The Los Angeles Dodgers may have come up just short in another classic World Series, but they are built beautifully thanks to an extremely stout farm system.
Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger quickly translated their top prospect status into superstar big league status, each winning National League Rookie of the Year the past two seasons while throwing their hat into the MVP discussion.
The next wave for the Dodgers is right around the corner in the form of pitchers Walker Buehler and Yadier Alvarez as well as outfielder Alex Verdugo.
Beyond that, 19-year old catcher Keibert Ruiz is one of baseball’s fastest rising future stars and there are plenty of other pitchers that hope to call Chavez Ravine in the coming years.
Somewhere along that line lies lefty Caleb Ferguson.
Ferguson, landed in John’s 2018 top 20 for the Dodgers, rounding out the section and has been nothing but a welcome development for L.A. after being taken 1,149th overall —in the 38th round— in 2014.
Originally projected far higher, Tommy John surgery scared many teams off and Ferguson looked destined to pitch for a few years at West Virginia. However, the Dodgers came calling over slot to snag the high-upside pitcher.
Recovered from an injury that is not the end-of-days diagnosis it used to be, the 6 foot 3, 215-pound, 21-year old southpaw absolutely dominated the California League in 2017, leading qualifiers in pretty much every category.
Hurling for High-A Rancho Cucamonga, he built on a stellar 2016 where he posted a 2.31 ERA with two rookie clubs and Low-A Great Lakes. He struck out 63 batters and walked just five (!), setting a precedent he would follow up on in 2017.
With the RC Quakes, he started 24 games (25 appearances) across 122.1 innings. Like the year before, he recorded a dazzling K:BB ratio, this time a whopping 140:55.
His left-handed status makes him a certain sleeper and while the reviews on him have yet to catch up to the results, another strong year for Double-A Tulsa will undoubtedly add him to the flux of promising arms the Dodgers have in store.